Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 8, 2015 Cycle B
by Rev. Jose Maria Cortes, F.S.C.E.

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In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

Whenever I hear this Gospel passage (Mk 12 41:44), I think about why the poor widow gave all she had, her whole livelihood. Apparently, the amount seemed negligible. However, Jesus says that the two coins were all that she had. She offered everything to God.

When I think about the widow’s offering, I ask myself how is it possible to give everything to God, not only what we have but what we are, what we love, what we like.

Why did she give all she had and not only a part? After leaving the temple, she would need money to buy food, to pay bills etc. If she gave everything, how could she survive? After putting her money in the treasury, her pockets were empty.

I found an answer to these questions in the first reading. There we also find a widow who had almost nothing. The prophet asks her what she has and she gives everything to him. She gave the last bit of flour and oil that she had to feed her son and herself.  She gave and what happened? “The jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry” (1 Kgs 17:14).

The widow of the Gospel knew that. She had total trust in God. That is why she gave all that she had. She knew that she would receive much more than what she had given.

When I was building a new church in my former parish, back in Portugal, I had a very generous benefactor. He was not as poor as the poor widow of the Gospel; he was a very successful manager. However, he had a generous heart, like the widow’s. Every time that I thanked him for his donations, he always told me: “Father, you do not have to thank me. It is I who has to thank you for asking. Every time I give something, I always receive much more.”

There is this mysterious reality: we do not lose what we give to God but we receive it back multiplied. Our Lord multiplies what we give to Him.

Let us ask Our Lord to increase our trust in him, that we may give to Him generously and with joy.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

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